Seven students to fight it out for each place left at university

Leading universities are ready to put up ‘no vacancies’ signs when A-level results are published next week, with up to seven students chasing each place offered through the clearing process.

Sixth-formers who slip just a single grade in their A-levels face being shut out as record numbers of courses are declared full, a survey revealed yesterday.

Universities are under unprecedented pressure this year to avoid exceeding strict recruitment targets after being threatened with hefty fines. As a result, the number of lastminute ‘clearing’ places available is being slashed amid unprecedented demand, a Daily Mail survey has found.

University race: Only a handful of places will be available through clearing at top institutions, leaving six out of every seven without a place

Academic chiefs are preparing to cut their clearing intakes by around a third, and two-thirds at some universities. They have already warned that up to 250,000 university applicants face disappointment this year.

Applications have risen 12 per cent on last year to 660,953. Nearly half a million candidates accepted places last year but only 10,000 more places have been made available for 2010.

Our survey shows that only a handful of places will be available through clearing at top institutions.

Cambridge, Oxford, The London School of Economics, University College London, Edinburgh and Birmingham will not use clearing. Bristol and Imperial College London were not expecting to use the process. Cardiff will have fewer than 200 clearing places and Manchester fewer than 50. Warwick said it was ‘very unlikely’ to offer clearing places.

Most universities anticipated having fewer places available in clearing than last year when a total of 47,188 students found courses through the process.

In the clear: Cambridge, along with Oxford, The London School of Economics, University College London, Edinburgh and Birmingham, will not use clearing

Professor David Green, vice-chancellor at Worcester, feared that a third fewer places would be available through clearing this year, leading to seven candidates chasing every place – a scenario also suggested by our survey.

He said: ‘In the past, universities have been prepared to forgive a grade. If you were offered ABB and got ABC, they would say, “OK”. This year they might say, “No, you have missed it”.’

Professor Michael Brown, vice-chancellor of Liverpool John Moores, said universities will ‘under-recruit significantly’ because of the threat of fines.

He said: ‘Universities will only accept students holding firm offers if they meet their A-level grades as exactly specified.

‘They will also only take applicants holding insurance offers if they too meet their grades.

‘Clearing will be used by universities to meet their target numbers, but it will be more competitive than ever because demand for places will far outstrip their availability.’

In previous years, experienced admissions staff have offered more places than existed, ‘just as airlines overbook to be sure of filling their planes’, he added.

‘This year, however, they won’t be able to do that, because the risks are too great.’

The University of West London said it planned to offer 250 places through clearing this year – down from more than 700 last year. And there has been a 62 per cent increase in the number of applications on last year to 11,860.

Spokesman Nicola Miller said: ‘People are aware the cap may be about to be lifted on tuition fees and that university could get very expensive.’